Gregory Park councillor, Portmore Mayor clash on support for arson victims
Published:Thursday | September 14, 2023 | 1:06 PM
Mayor of Portmore Leon Thomas has rebuffed claims from Jamaica Labour Party Councillor for the Gregory Park Division in Portmore Joy Brown that he and the municipal corporation have failed to provide adequate support to arson victims in the area.
Brown, speaking at the general meeting of the municipal corporation last night, accused the municipal corporation of neglecting over 100 persons whose lives have been affected in the division in the past year because of the firebombing of their homes, including in an area known as Gulf.
She accused the mayor of taking three weeks to visit arson victims in the area called Mexico and two days to visit the victims of the 11 houses that were firebombed on Walkers Avenue.
"Today, neither the disaster coordinator nor the mayor has reached out to me regarding the crisis. I know there are emergency supplies at the council for situations like these so why are the residents of Gregory Park treated like they are not a part of the municipality," Brown questioned.
"It's a shame that other representatives of other government agencies, charitable organisations, and ordinary Jamaicans visited and gave assistance and none has come from this council," Brown noted.
But, Thomas pushed back.
He told Brown that the municipal corporation got money through the Ministry of Local Government and aid was given to the victims out of that money.
He also noted that money was given to members of parliament for aid packages.
Brown insisted that the mayor did not give her a call after he heard about the attack on the victims in Mexico and Walkers Avenue, to which Thomas insisted that Brown should have initiated the call after she got the news of the disaster.
She also questioned the role of the disaster preparedness committee given what she said has been a lack of response from that department.
This prompted a response from the corporation's chief executive officer, Naudia Crosskill, who informed Brown that four reports have been developed by the chairman of the committee and that they have been forwarded to the local government ministry for further action.
Notably, Thomas, two days after the Gregory Park arson disaster, led an opposition People's National Party team including Opposition Spokesman on National Security, Peter Bunting, and party chairman Dr Angela Brown Burke to the area and met with the victims.
He also promised that a cleanup exercise would be undertaken.
However, the exercise was done through the Ministry of Local Government during a visit by Portfolio Minister Desmond McKenzie, who also announced that he had engaged the St Catherine Municipal Corporation's poor relief department to intervene.
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